Mammuthus africanavus

African mammoth; Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Proboscidea
Family:	Elephantidae
Genus:	†Mammuthus
Species:	†M. africanavus
Binomial name
	†Mammuthus africanavus; (Arambourg, 1952)

The African mammoth, Mammuthus africanavus (literally, "African ancestor mammoth"), is the second oldest of mammoth species, having first appeared around 3 million years ago during the late Pliocene, with a last appearance around 1.65 million years ago in the early Pleistocene.^[1] Its fossils have been found in Chad, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. It was relatively small and is seen as the direct ancestor of M. meriodionalis, although its tusk diverged more widely from its skull than later species of mammoth, which might indicate that it was an evolutionary dead end.^[2]

References

^ Couvering, John A. Van (2004-12-16). The Pleistocene Boundary and the Beginning of the Quaternary. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521617024.
^ Lister, Adrian; Bahn, Paul (2007). Mammoths: giants of the ice age. Frances Lincoln. p. 23.

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[1] Couvering, John A. Van (2004-12-16). The Pleistocene Boundary and the Beginning of the Quaternary. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521617024.

[2] Lister, Adrian; Bahn, Paul (2007). Mammoths: giants of the ice age. Frances Lincoln. p. 23.

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